Meet MAUREEN KEDES | Actor, writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with MAUREEN KEDES and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi MAUREEN, how do you think about risk?
Instead of sending me off to school with the usual, “Be good. Listen to your teachers,” my devilish and brilliant father, an outlier, a rebel-thinker, a curious, open-hearted creature, commanded, “Give ’em hell, Maureen!” What he meant was: question everything; delve deeply; never settle for mediocrity; and be fearless on your journey to find your passion, purpose, and happiness. Yes, take risks. My dad, Larry, passed last year, and his message is ringing loud.
I look back on my life and remember friends and family telling me how brave my choices have been. But I have just been following my dad’s “Give ’em hell,” directive.

As a young woman, I left my small town and headed to New York. The way I figured it, the only Ivy League that thought I was good enough, deserved me taking a risk on them, and joining their ranks. While there, I gathered some NY theatre credits and got my Columbia U diploma. Then I attended Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. I never worried about, “How am I going to survive?” I just followed my heart, which eventually lead me to Los Angeles.

I took a huge risk and did live Improv comedy with a troupe for a few years at the Ice House every Saturday night. I took a risk on a guy I met in improv class and knew he’d make loving, smart babies. So guess what? We made two! (My kids are, by far, my greatest accomplishment). I wanted to raise sane children (and he was an actor) so I took a huge risk and left the entertainment business at the top of my ingenue “castability” and started a PR business to support the family.

Then 22 years later, now an empty nester, I took another huge risk, and relaunched my acting career, as an older woman. I could not just start up again from the place I had been: guest stars, movies. I had to start at rock bottom and dig, crawl, scratch my way back. And I’m still fighting.

And, I’m still taking huge risks. The wall of ageism in Hollywood is profound. I’ve been told I’m “over the hump,” I ignore the negativity. There are more roles for older people now and as the stereotypes of the dying-in-the-hospital-bed or chubby-grey-granny get tired, more interesting roles are emerging: vital, sexy, fun, smart, creative, powerful older forces are popping up everywhere. That is what I focus on. Agents who understand that they can build a career of an older actor just as they can build a young actor’s career will benefit. In fact, building an older person’s career is less work for an agent and will most likely last longer!

I take risks in my auditions: big, fearless choices that say, “This is how Maureen does this role.”

I also take risks in my daily life: taking new classes, trying new recipes, meeting new friends, challenging myself in fitness. expanding my financial investments, traveling to new places.

I miss my dad. I miss sharing notes from each of our risk-taking journeys — we, the curious, open-hearted creatures who love exploring the world and love to “give ’em hell.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am not one of those actors who can’t watch themselves. I mean… once I got over the shock of seeing myself as an older woman, then I could! Something happens after a couple of weeks when I leave a role. It almost disappears from my memory so when I watch myself, it’s like watching someone else.

I am most proud of all the hard work and rejection and not letting it get me down. I am also proud of being diverse: from doing very subtle, still, emotional film acting and being a front-of-the-camera precise technician –to doing big, loud, bold comedy choices. And I love both equally.

I’ve shot 47 films since relaunching my career in 2019; a bulk of that happened, of course, during the pandemic. Five of those films are full-length features (and the hard part is that low budget projects take FOREVER to complete because of budgets) but I’m super proud of two leading role performances in particular: The Greatest of All Tina (comedy) and Thundercloud Lane (drama). Both should be out next year.

Nothing is easy about what I do. But with maturity comes wisdom. I am enjoying the process. I look at my kids and my life and know that I have already achieved success, so anything else is just icing on the cake!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA is so unique because we have this big, sprawling city but we are in nature. So we’ve got to go outside. Runyon Canyon is a must. The stairs in Santa Monica are must also. I like to park on San Vicente, walk the path, go down the incline, over the bridge above PCH, walk along the beach, hit the underground tunnel and walk through the swank neighborhood up the steps then back to the car. Outdoor, rooftop dining cannot be beat in Los Angeles but we also have swank cozy places. I love Laurel Hardware, Nice Guy, the roof at Eataly. But I also love Noshi Sushi in East LA and Brother’s Korean BBQ in Korea Town. Jitlada for Thai. The Baked Potato and Vibrato for jazz.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Marcie Smolin at The Actor’s Circle in Culver City

Website: www.maureenkedes.com

Instagram: maureenkedes

Facebook: Maureen Kedes

Other: imdb.me/maureenkedes